Laws to raise age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 pass Victoria’s upper house in marathon sitting

The Allan government has all but secured its push to raise the age of criminal responsibility after its 942-page Youth Justice Bill passed the parliament’s upper house in a sitting that extended into the early morning.

Laws to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 in Victoria have passed the parliament’s upper house after a marathon sitting of parliament.

The government’s 942-page Youth Justice Bill passed with an absolute majority shortly after 1.30am, after hundreds of amendments were considered and voted on.

The bill is now expected to sail through the lower house when parliament returns later this month.

The age of criminal responsibility will be formally raised to 12 once the bill is given royal assent, and on that day any outstanding criminal cases involving 10 and 11 year olds will be dropped.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. Picture: Nicki Connolly

There are currently no 10 or 11-year-olds in remand or serving a sentence order in Victoria, but they would also be released on that day.

Offences committed by 10 and 11-year olds in the last year made up around 0.1 per cent of all offences, according to government data.

Under the reforms a legislated scheme for warnings, cautions and early diversion will encourage police to avoid charging children.

At the same time, an additional Children’s Court magistrate will be appointed to help deal with a surge in repeat offending by up to 200 children.

Electronic monitoring will also be legislated as an optional bail condition for children.

And the doli incapax principle — that dictates the presumption that a child aged 10 to 14 is incapable of criminal intent — will also be written into legislation.

Cabinet met on Monday to sign off on a number of amendments to the original bill amid increasing community pressure to wind back plans for a widespread overhaul of the youth justice system.

Youth crime has spiked in Victoria. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Youth Justice minister Enver Erdogan said the bill would create a modern framework to respond to the evolving landscape of youth offending in Victoria.

“It enhances the best aspects of the current system while providing a broader spectrum and more effective responses at both ends of offending,” he said.

“This includes diverting young people away from the criminal justice system before their behaviour becomes dangerous and enforcing more serious and tailored consequences for serious and repeat offenders.

“At their core, the reforms in this bill are about improving community safety.

“Keeping the community safe is a top priority of our government. Victoria already gets a lot of things right when it comes to youth justice, and this legislation will do more of what we know works.”

Former premier Daniel Andrews had originally committed to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14.

But Jacinta Allan this week announced the government would not go that far, in a move that is understood to have split her caucus.

“This decision has been made at a different time by a different government and a different premier,” she said.